


It wasn't a kiss (Until it was)

by CobraBi



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series), Karate Kid (Movies)
Genre: M/M, a lot of fluff, also fellas is it gay to think of your karate rival, basically i really like teenlawrusso, but also boys protecting each other, the summary is short bc i dont wanna give stuff away, they are cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:47:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27754069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CobraBi/pseuds/CobraBi
Summary: Daniel goes to practice the Crane Technique alone on the beach before the tournament and things don't turn out as he expects them to.
Relationships: Daniel LaRusso/Johnny Lawrence
Comments: 15
Kudos: 123





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I got the Karate Kid book for my birthday and I came across this scene that inspired me to write this. The scene kind of freaked me out tbh because I got scared for Daniel.

The Crane technique didn’t seem so hard or at least that’s what Daniel had convinced himself of when he climbed onto one of the poles to attempt it. The water looked admittedly more choppy than he would have liked but he was in danger of having his ass kicked at the tournament, surely water would hurt less than kicks and punches. Though it didn’t help that the water was cold. All he needed was balance and this would really help him out. If he could master it.

He stood up there on the pole and waited for the water to come at him and it did come at him. Hard. One wave was strong enough to sweep him off his feet and flatten him to the ground. Okay, so maybe he just needed more practice. He did wonder what kind of techniques the Cobra Kai’s did. They weren’t practicing any wax on wax off moves for sure, they were probably doing something out of a military boot camp. He wouldn’t put it past Kreese. Kreese was why Johnny was so strong and also why Johnny was so vicious. Daniel wasn’t sure why Johnny felt the need to take things so far. He knew Daniel wasn’t a match for him (yet) but he still acted like they needed to fight to the death. Whatever happened to talking things out? He was starting to think that people in California just didn’t communicate. 

He didn’t need to be thinking of Johnny because he was ruining his concentration. Thinking too much about Johnny would lead him to think about Ali and he didn’t want to think about her. What a sucker he had been to think he stood a chance between her and Johnny. He was just a sad rebound to make Johnny jealous and she probably hadn’t cared that he got hurt. Girls dug macho guys and Johnny was the macho-ist guy he knew of. Johnny, Johnny, Johnny... why couldn’t he get that guy out of his head?

It was too late when he finally registered the ginormous wave heading right towards him. The water crashed over him, knocking him down and his head collided with another pole. Dazed and hurt, the water seemed to tangle itself around his legs and pull him back. He couldn’t see anything and he choked on ocean water. His legs didn’t work and he felt too weak to even move his arms. Maybe this had been a bad idea, he thought uselessly and especially since he hadn’t brought anyone with him. He felt like he was falling and the darkness welcomed him.

——

Daniel was aware that he was being kissed or at least he thought he was being kissed. The person kissing him wasn’t doing it for very long and they were kissing him with an open mouth. It was very strange but at the same time, that person’s lips were soft. Soft like Ali’s... was she kissing him? She was being a little rough with his chest though... 

He blearily opened his eyes and saw blonde hair above him. So it was Ali! Then reality caught up with him and he shot up and leaned over to cough up saltwater. A lot of water seemed to be spilling out of his mouth. It was like he had swallowed a small ocean. It was all coming back to him now. Daniel now became aware that he had been dangerously close to drowning judging by the water in his lungs but luckily for him, he had his own guardian angel. After he had hacked a considerable amount, he rolled over to look at his savior (Ali) and opened his mouth to thank her-

Daniel reeled back like he had been bitten, his ease and his gratefulness receding as he looked at the person by his side. That person was not Ali. They were blonde, sure, but they were not Ali. He was faced with an awkward-looking Johnny Lawrence, the last person he wanted to see.

“J-Johnny?!” Daniel didn’t like that he sounded frightened. But King Karate was right by his side, it was hard not to feel caught. “D-did you-?” His question was answered with one quick look over the other boy, Johnny was soaking wet. No, no, no way! There was no way Johnny Lawrence, the guy of Daniel’s nightmares had risked his life and saved Daniel from drowning. He had to be dreaming or he was dead. Either way, this was one hell of a nightmare or he was in hell. Daniel slapped himself across the face.

Johnny flinched, looking unnerved by his action. “Why’d you do that?” He asked, his eyes searching Daniel’s face.

“To wake me up because clearly, I’m not awake right now.” Daniel answered logically and slapped himself again. Yes, it was hurting but it didn’t seem to be waking him up. Maybe he just needed to apply more force? Or what if he slapped Johnny? No... even in a dream, he wouldn’t attempt to do that. He raised his arm to slap himself again but Johnny reacted with catlike reflexes and caught his wrist.

“Knock it off, weirdo.” Johnny seemed more on edge than Daniel did. “You’re going to hurt yourself and you nearly died. Also, your head has a nasty cut on it too.” 

Daniel blinked, was he crazy, or did Johnny sounded genuinely concerned about his wellbeing? No, he had to be crazy. He felt his head with his free hand and did detect a nasty cut on his forehead and winced. It did seem that he was awake after all but nothing going on made any sense. He looked at his wrist, Johnny still had his hand wrapped tightly around it. “Can I have my arm back?” He asked lamely.

“Sorry.” The blonde muttered and released him as quickly as he had caught him.

Sorry? That was strange coming from Johnny. “Did you really save me?” Daniel asked nervously.

Johnny flicked his eyes over him. “And what if I did?”

Daniel didn’t know what to say to that but his curiosity caught up to him soon enough “Why? You tried to kill me plenty of times, why bother saving me?”

“I didn’t try to kill you.” Johnny sounded offended.

Was he really about to risk pissing Johnny off now? The sea was right there, the other boy could easily hold him back down in the water but Daniel couldn’t hold his tongue. “What do you call pushing someone down a steep hill and trying to kick his face in while he’s nearly unconscious? I call that attempted murder.”

Now Johnny looked like he had been the one on the receiving end of the slaps. “I- I-” He stammered, for once Johnny was the one that was at a loss for words. Instinctively, Daniel braced himself for any blows to come, since he guessed that Johnny’s anger was not far behind. “I’m sorry.” The words surprised him more than a sucker punch would have.

Did those words just leave Johnny’s mouth? This was the second time he had said sorry to Daniel. He imagined that he was gawking at the blonde. 

“I didn’t think about it.” Johnny continued and he looked ashamed as he turned away from Daniel. “I didn’t even think of you as a person.” Well, that was reassuring to hear. “Like I didn’t think about any consequences, I just hurt you because I thought I had to. Like I’d been taught to.” The bitterness was evident in Johnny’s voice when he spoke. “I don’t think you’re my enemy, LaRusso, I just don’t know where we stand with each other.”

“Well, I suppose you’ve already won points for saving me from drowning and all-“ Daniel joked but then cut himself off when all the details of Johnny’s rescue finally caught up with his addled brain. CPR. The kiss. The kisses. Oh no, it had not been a sweet kiss from Ali. Instead, it was a kiss from Johnny Lawrence. It may have very well been the kiss of death. Daniel gagged and started to retch onto the sand again.

Johnny was the ever doting nurse again. “What’s wrong?” His voice sounded sharp in Daniel’s ears.

Daniel sat up and wiped his mouth off. “You did CPR on me.” He pointed out stiffly.

As if to make matters worse, a little color appeared in Johnny’s cheeks. “Yeah? So what?” The bully tried to deflect and sound unbothered. “You were dying.”

“Couldn’t you have, ya know, just whacked me on the back a few times?” Daniel offered up and it sounded like a plea to his ears.

Johnny’s eyes narrowed. “No.” He replied curtly. “You wanted me to let you die?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You just did.” Johnny said each word slowly and angrily.

“I just-“ Daniel wasn’t sure how to phrase this but Johnny did it for him.

“It wasn’t a fucking kiss, LaRusso.” His karate rival growled.

It was though and he was sure that they both knew it. Daniel knew better than to keep pushing it though, it was safer to not engage. “Where’d you learn how to do CPR?” He hoped to distract Johnny with a question.

Johnny shrugged. “I saw a lifeguard do it once at a pool and I thought it seemed like a good skill.”

Daniel laughed. “I would say it’s better than just a good skill. Say-“ He eyed up Johnny and then looked at Johnny’s motorbike thrown haphazardly onto the sand as if the other had driven it right down the beach to come to his aid. “Where’d you come from? How’d you see me? I didn’t see anyone else around.”

Johnny got fidgety all of a sudden and ran a hand through his perfect blonde hair. “I was watching you.”

Daniel felt a little warm. “Watching me?” How many times did Johnny see him make a fool out of himself?

“I wasn’t stalking you.” Johnny got defensive as if he really thought that Daniel’s mind had gone there. “I was driving by and then I saw you down here doing some dumb karate move.”

“Dumb? It wasn’t dumb!” He shot back.

Johnny snorted a little derisively. “You almost got killed doing it. That’s dumb.” Daniel couldn’t argue with that. “Anyways, I stopped watching you because I was considering coming down and bothering you but I decided not to, and then that’s when I noticed you were gone. I saw you in the water though, just only for a second...” He shivered a little. “And I just didn’t even think about it, I just did it.”

Daniel noticed for the first time really that Johnny was fully clothed. Sure, Daniel was wearing a t-shirt and shorts but Johnny had on that super cool Cobra jacket of his and he probably had other designer clothes on his person. And he had jumped in the water to rescue Daniel all the same. He really thought he had Johnny all figured out but he didn’t. The guy was going off the script now. 

“Thank you.” He said for the first time. “Thanks for saving me, Johnny.”

“Anyone else would have done the same.” Johnny shrugged.

“No one else was around.” Daniel pointed out with a small smile.

“True.” Johnny agreed with a voice that sounded shy. 

They sat there a little while, unsure of what to say or do in each other’s company. Johnny was the one to finally break the silence.

“You know when I kissed Ali?” 

“How could I forget?” Daniel replied dryly. He didn’t know why Johnny was bringing this up now.

“She punched me in the mouth for doing that.” Johnny’s smile looked sheepish.

Daniel was thrown off. “I thought she liked it?”

Johnny shook his head. “Nope, she’s way over me and that really proved it.” He sounded a little sad but only a little.

Well, that was good to know but he had a lot of sucking up to do to put himself back in Ali’s good graces. But why was Johnny telling him this? Johnny’s words about them not being enemies echoed in his head. “Why tell me?” He had to know.

Johnny shifted in the sand next to him. “I didn’t like it.”

“Didn’t like what?” Daniel frowned.

“I didn’t like kissing her. And I know she didn’t like kissing me either. I don’t like her like that anymore.” Johnny was an open book. 

“Then why did you kiss her?”

“Because I saw you.” Johnny answered. “And then I just thought I had to.”

“Ah,” Daniel commented. It did make sense. Was Johnny giving him his blessing to pursue Ali?

“I used to think of Ali all the time.” The blonde continued. “Now I just think of you.”

Daniel cocked his head. “Like because you hate me and want to kick my ass?”

“At first,” Johnny answered honestly. “But now those feelings about Ali have moved to you.”

Oh. Daniel felt frozen. Oh. This was unreal. Was he really hearing this right? Johnny thought of him in that way? The way that guys thought about girls? The way girls thought about guys? But with a guy and another guy? He didn’t know anyone like that and he wouldn’t have guessed that Johnny was like that. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, it was just different... “Johnny-“ He began.

“Don’t.” Johnny’s voice shook a little. “I just thought I should let you know. Ali is yours. I won’t bother you, no matter the outcome of the tournament.” He got to his feet stiffly and turned away toward his bike.

Somehow he felt that if he let Johnny walk off right now, they’d never be that close again. His brain searched for something to reel the other teen back in. “I think about you too.” Daniel blurted out before he could stop himself. 

Johnny froze. “What?” He turned back around, a little life coming back into his body.

“Like- like I don’t know in what way though. I think about what you’re doing all the time, where you are, what you’re feeling. If you’re thinking about me.” Daniel rambled. In hindsight, he really should have realized it. It was always Johnny central in his brain. He was always thinking about him lately, even dreaming about him, Johnny was the first thought in his mind when he woke up. “I- I think about you more than I think about Ali.” And he was supposed to be in love with her. 

Johnny looked floored. 

“I know at first it was because I was afraid of you but now I think it’s something else.” He swallowed. “Something like what you’re saying...”

The blonde dropped to his knees silently by Daniel again. “You’re sure?” He sounded hopeful but not too hopeful.

“I think you should kiss me.” Daniel locked his brown eyes on Johnny’s blue eyes. He had never felt so sure in his life.

Johnny didn’t need to be told twice. He kissed Daniel like he had been waiting to do it his whole life. His hands cupped Daniel’s face tenderly and he was gentle. Daniel had kissed and been kissed many times before but only with girls. He had thought that a kiss from Ali was the best thing ever but by the way he was melting under Johnny’s, hers wasn’t even in the same ballpark. This wasn’t CPR but it was enough to bring life into both of them. 

Pulling apart was difficult. 

“Can I kiss you again?” Johnny asked breathlessly like he had to make sure Daniel really felt the same way.

It would have been easy to tease Johnny for asking like a kid but this was a defining moment for both of them. Boys didn’t do this. His mom hadn’t ever made it seem wrong but others did. Daniel didn’t think Johnny’s mates would see it as fine or his Sensei because liking other boys wasn’t considered tough. Johnny was at risk for a lot of things here but so was Daniel.

Daniel didn’t say anything but he didn’t have to, his actions spoke for him as he wrapped his arms around Johnny’s neck and kissed him. They stayed like that for a while.

He pretended not to see Johnny wiping his eyes as they stared at the rolling waves afterward. Daniel felt changed and knew Johnny felt it too.

A shiver passed through his body when the wind picked up a little. It took that to realize that his clothes were still damp.

Johnny looked over at him. “I’d offer you my jacket but that’s wet too.” He smiled.

“Guess that means it’s time for me to go home.” Daniel sighed and frowned. He really didn’t want to leave but the last thing he needed was a cold.

“I can take you.” Johnny offered quickly.

Daniel looked up the beach. “It’s okay. I took my bike.”

“Mine’s faster.” The blonde grinned cockily.

“Okay, hotshot.” Daniel rolled his eyes. “I’ll pick it up later.” He highly doubted anyone would want to take that old thing.

Johnny stood up, dusted himself off a little, and then went and picked the bike up. Daniel was a little dubious that it could fit two people on it at once. Johnny sat down and revved it to life. “Hop on.” He jerked his head at the spot behind him.

Daniel hoped they didn’t go by anyone they knew. Guys didn’t or they weren’t supposed to ride behind each other on motorbikes or motorcycles. There was nowhere else to hang onto but Johnny’s waist unless he wanted to risk falling off. They were so close to each other too. Riding behind someone else was an intimate gesture in his mind.

Johnny kicked off and the bike spewed sand as it roared off the beach. The wind swept through Daniel’s hair and rustled his clothes, it felt nice. He wondered if he was holding onto Johnny too tightly but if it bothered Johnny, he didn’t say anything. 

Maybe California wasn’t so bad after all, Daniel just needed to figure out the rules.

——

“Here she is.” Daniel announced as the roar of the bike quieted to a lull. His house was so modest. He felt the dull sting of shame, Johnny probably lived around other mansions as Ali did.

“I’ll catch up.” Johnny said as he maneuvered his bike to park it.

“Sounds good.” He agreed and walked up to the entrance. Daniel pushed the gate open and realized he almost knocked someone with it like his first day there and that someone was Freddy again. It was awkward running into Freddy around there because he felt so embarrassed that he had led him on about his karate skills and he didn’t think Freddy wanted to be around him. Especially since he was a danger magnet given his dealings with Johnny. They both stared at each other awkwardly and Daniel felt a little small. “Sorry.” He muttered and he went to slide by Freddy. 

Freddy looked like he was trying hard to ignore Daniel’s presence like Daniel was a black sheep. Then instead of moving to let Daniel by, he stood there transfixed, his eyes wide in what looked like terror, and his mouth opened in an ‘o’ shape. Daniel frowned, a little put off, and then turned around to see what Freddy was looking at. Freddy’s reaction soon clicked though.

Over Daniel’s shoulder, Johnny was shooting Freddy the most murderous look that he was capable of. If looks could kill, Freddy would be pronounced dead at Daniel’s feet. It was like Johnny’s blue eyes were two smoldering twin flames. Even he got the shivers. 

He didn’t think the two knew each other that well which meant the blonde was doing it purely for Daniel’s benefit. Maybe he had heard the wisecracks that Freddy and his friends made about Daniel ever since the beach. Daniel smirked a little when he looked back at Freddy who still hadn’t moved. “Are you coming?” He looked back over his shoulder at Johnny.

Freddy was still gawking as Daniel moved forward but he backed up and stepped aside instead of going out of the gate. Johnny followed Daniel but he paused to shoot Freddy a venomous look one last time. Now there was no doubt in the back of Daniel’s mind that Freddy wouldn’t not say anything. It must have really blown him away to see Daniel willingly go with Johnny, like a lamb leading a lion. 

“What was that?” Daniel asked as they headed to his apartment.

“I don’t like that guy.” Johnny admitted plainly.

Daniel couldn’t keep the grin off his face. “Is it because of what he says about me?”

“...Yes.” Johnny wasn’t exactly subtle. “I can kick his ass.” He offered helpfully.

“Woah, slow your roll, King Karate.” Daniel teased. “You made him sweat out there, I think that’s good enough.”

“Hmm, okay.” Johnny didn’t sound 100% convinced. 

So the whole time Johnny was hyper-aware of what was going on in Daniel’s life? It almost made Daniel wonder if he had been amassing a hit list just for later. Did that mean he could join Johnny’s little posse? He doubted that as soon as he thought about it. Johnny’s crew was high maintenance and mean, plus they were exclusive. Some of them didn’t seem quite so bad but he wasn’t Cobra material.

As Daniel walked up the stairs with Johnny, he felt eyes on him. Who was it gonna be this time? He caught Mr. Miyagi watching him from around a bend and he could have sworn that his Sensei looked more than a little smug.

“This is me.” Daniel said when they got to his door. “Do you want to come inside to dry off a little?” He questioned.

Johnny hesitated. “Okay.” He answered unsurely.

“It’s not anything swanky but it’s home.” He commented as he opened the door.

“Daniel, there you are.” Shit, his mom was home. Immediately her eyes went to the cut on his forehead and her mom-mode activated. “Honey, not again!” She rushed right to his side and started inspecting his injury. “I thought you got this taken care of?”

“Ma, it’s fine.” Daniel insisted, trying to duck her but he couldn’t. “This time it was an accident. I swear!”

His mom looked surprised when she noticed Johnny behind him for the first time. “Oh, who’s this?” She asked as she straightened up.

Johnny looked uncomfortable and Daniel could only attribute that to what his mom had just said. “This is Johnny Lawrence.” He supplied. “Johnny, this is my mom.”

“Nice to meet you, Ms. LaRusso.” Johnny said politely.

“Call me Lucille.” His mother beamed and the look she gave Daniel seemed to say ‘why can’t you be this well mannered’. “It’s nice to meet you too. Why are you boys so damp looking? Did you go for a swim with your clothes on?” She cracked.

Johnny and Daniel exchanged knowing glances.

“Sort of.” Daniel shrugged.

“Maybe I should go-“ Johnny started to back up towards the door. 

“Absolutely not.” Daniel’s mom seemed appalled by the notion. “It’s cold outside. You’ll catch a cold running around all wet. I’ll figure something out and you-“ She locked eyes with Daniel. “come with me so I can get that cut cleaned up.”

Johnny and Daniel didn’t even fight it. There was no use arguing with a determined mom.

——

Lucille’s solution was to give Johnny some of Daniel’s clothes while she hung Johnny’s clothes up in the bathroom and blow dried them. No one argued.

“How do those fit?” Daniel asked when they were in his room. His forehead had been handled with a quick bandaid patch up.

“A little tight.” Johnny had on his jerk smirk. “But I’ll live.”

If you had told him yesterday that Johnny Lawrence would be in his room and wearing his clothes, Daniel would have called you crazy but it was really happening. Same with the kiss, it was a shock.

“Your mom is nice.” His karate rival said as he inspected Daniel’s messy room.

“Yeah, but she can be a little overbearing sometimes.” Daniel admitted. “Like now.”

“Where’s your dad?”

Daniel saw that Johnny was inspecting one of his old photographs. “He’s-” That level of vulnerability, talking about his dad wasn’t something he did often but Johnny had asked. “He’s dead. He died when I was eight.” He swallowed and then looked down.

“Oh.” Johnny didn’t seem like he expected that. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up anything.” His tone was regretful.

“It’s fine. It was a long time ago.” Daniel lied. It wasn’t really a long time ago though. “What about your parents?” He itched to break free of the subject already.

Johnny studied him but if he wanted to say something else about Daniel’s dad, he didn’t. “My mom’s nice. My stepdad is a dick.” His eyes got hard at the mention of his stepfather. “I don’t know my real dad but my mom just married my stepdad to give me a better life. It was better when it was just me and her. Like not better “better” but it was nicer, you know?”

Daniel nodded. He had always assumed that Johnny had loving parents, like Ali’s, not whatever he was describing. He guessed it wasn’t all black and white. Just because Johnny had fancy things didn’t mean he had a good home life. He had a whole lot to learn in that aspect of life. Maybe they both did.

“Whatever, it’s not like I can do anything about it.” Johnny shrugged dismissively. “What were you practicing out there? Before you almost drowned?” He changed the subject.

“Oh yeah, as if I’m going to let you in on my moves.” Daniel replied playfully from his seat on the bed. 

Johnny raised his eyebrows and smirked. “I feel like you owe me because I saved your life.”

He shook his head. “I think I repaid you in full with some lip action.”

The blonde laughed as he flopped down on the bed next to Daniel. “I won’t argue that.”

Johnny laid down flat on the bed and Daniel peered over him. He didn’t think he had ever been so close with another boy before. It’s not like it was common to sit on each other's beds when you were guys. His eyes studied Johnny’s face, maybe all the times he had cursed that “pretty boy” Johnny Lawrence should have told him that he thought of Johnny in a different way. Then again even Daniel could admit that he was super oblivious at times. 

“What are you looking at, LaRusso?” Johnny asked lazily.

“The prettiest boy in the valley.” Daniel grinned.

“Oh, shut up.” The other gave him a playful shove.

It was funny how things could change so fast. He went from avoiding Johnny like the plague to not wanting Johnny to leave. That moment on the beach had been so perfect. Maybe he needed to drown more often. They were more alike than the two of them realized. Realizing feelings didn’t always go smoothly but Daniel was glad things had worked out. 

Daniel laid down next to Johnny and intertwined his fingers with Johnny’s. “Do you want to stay over?” He asked softly. Hopefully, Johnny wouldn’t bolt.

“Stay over?” Johnny was surprised. “First you can’t stand to be near me but now you don’t want me to leave.” He did sound happy about it though.

“Well?” Daniel was impatient already.

“I’m not very prepared for a sleepover.” Johnny pointed out.

“The clothes you’re wearing are basically pajamas. You can just put on your other clothes tomorrow since they’ll be dry.”

“And your mom won’t mind?” Johnny sat up to look over Daniel.

“She can’t say no to me in front of my friends.” Daniel smirked. “I think that’s a thing with most moms.”

As if on cue, Daniel’s mom came barging into his room. She was holding Johnny’s Cobra jacket in her hands. “It’s still a little damp but it’s mostly dry, I think…” She fussed over the jacket worriedly.

“Ma, can Johnny stay over?” Daniel cut right to the chase. He made sure he asked nice and sweet.

His mother hesitated but only for a second. “Well, I don’t see why not. You boys want pizza?” She beamed.

Daniel and Johnny enthusiastically agreed. After Lucille stepped out, Daniel turned to Johnny and said quite smugly. “See?”

“That’s because you used those big Bambi eyes on her.” Johnny joked. “They’re like kryptonite.”

\-----

The rest of the night went without a hitch. His mom did ask what happened to both of them. When it came to lying to his mother, Daniel wasn’t very good at it. Johnny took charge though and said they were messing around at the beach, according to his story, Daniel fell and took him into the water too which was how Daniel’s forehead got cut. She seemed like she bought the story and didn’t suspect that Johnny was covering for both of them. 

Daniel currently watched as his guest tried to get comfortable on the floor of his room. “Ya know you don’t have to sleep on the floor.” He pointed out.

“Where else would I sleep?” Johnny asked, a little puzzled.

Daniel gestured to his bed.

“Oh.” The blonde said dumbly. “There’s not much room.”

He rolled his eyes playfully. “Okay, Mr. Moneybags, suit yourself.” He tucked himself in and reached to turn off the light.

“Wait!” Johnny threw his blanket off. “I didn’t say no. Now move over.” He started to edge his way into the bed.

It was a tight fit but Daniel wouldn’t have offered if he didn’t want that. Johnny was lying on his back so Daniel snuggled in and laid his head on the other's chest. It was nice being this close to someone. Maybe it had been a blessing that things between him and Ali had gone up in flames because otherwise, he wouldn’t be experiencing this with Johnny right now. There was still a good chance that he should apologize for jumping to conclusions and not letting her explain herself but what if she was interested in rekindling things? Daniel knew for sure he didn’t like her like that anymore. 

“You’re frowning.” Johnny observed as he ruffled Daniel’s hair.

“Just thinking about if I should say anything to Ali.” He told Johnny.

“About?” Johnny tensed a little.

“Like say I’m sorry for being a jerk and say I don’t think we’re right for each other but I wouldn’t mind being friends.” He supplied as he nuzzled into Johnny’s shirt. “I don’t know. I’ll figure it out tomorrow or something.”

“You worry too much.” Johnny reached towards the light. “Goodnight, LaRusso.” His voice was fond.

“Goodnight, Johnny.” Daniel could already feel his eyelids starting to get heavy when the light was turned off. The rising and falling of Johnny’s chest as well as the sounds of his breathing were very soothing. 

The last thing Daniel thought of before he drifted off was how much he wanted to kiss Johnny again. Today would stick with him for years, he was sure of it and he hoped Johnny would still be with him.


	2. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay maybe this chapter isn't "short" short, but it's still shorter. This chapter focuses on them during CK but flashes back to TKK. Shout out to my sister for the first couple of lines since she put those in my head.

A lot of things can change in 30 years, luckily for Daniel he had one constant in his life even when life got hard. And that constant was Johnny Lawrence. Despite their rocky start, the two were bound to each other and rarely separated. 

Truly no one would have guessed it but a lot can change in one day. Johnny and Daniel went from being mortal enemies to being joined at the hip. Johnny’s friends weren’t very accepting of the change but some of them grew to accept it. Those who didn’t hadn’t been worth it as a friend in the first place.

Daniel was aware that Johnny never trusted him near the ocean again. They visited the spot that brought them together many times but Johnny didn’t want him in the water. The event that brought them closer still had its hooks in the blonde and he got jumpy if he saw Daniel even go under the water for a second.

Daniel had made light of it one time by saying “I’m not doing a crane kick right now. I’ll be fine.”

Johnny had caught his arm, cast his eyes down, and said in a quiet whisper. “You really scared me.” 

Immediately, he had felt really bad for joking about it. Johnny sounded frightened and sad. When he thought of that day, his mind mainly went to the positive stuff and he hadn’t ever really thought about how Johnny felt rescuing him. Daniel would have been scared too in that position, especially seeing someone he loved in danger and having their life in his hands. He had thought about asking Johnny what he was thinking or what he had been feeling at that moment but he wasn’t sure if Johnny wanted to think about it.

“I’m sorry, Johnny. I didn’t think of it from your point of view.” Daniel had said softly as he put his arms around Johnny and held him. 

They both agreed that the ocean was beautiful and nice to relax to but also that Daniel was better off not being in it.

Maybe Daniel hadn’t thought of it like that before because he hadn’t even been aware of how much danger he had been in. All that mattered to him was that Johnny had saved him and they admitted their feelings to each other, not that he could have actually died if Johnny hadn’t been there. Still, he knew danger when he saw it but only took it to heart when it involved Johnny.

Johnny had wanted to quit Cobra Kai before the tournament but they hadn’t been sure what would happen if Johnny did that. As much as Daniel knew Mr. Miyagi was a karate master, he had been afraid that Kreese would call open season if he and his Sensei didn’t show up or if Johnny didn’t compete. It wasn’t right to make Mr. Miyagi fight his battles for him. So it was decided that   
Johnny would quit the dojo after the tournament.

Things got bad at the tournament and Daniel could remember it like it happened yesterday. His blood still boiled when he thought of what Kreese did.

-Flashback-

The Cobra Kai fighters were brutal. Daniel didn’t especially like being menaced in the locker room by Dutch and the others before the match but luckily Johnny got there to chase them away. When it came to protecting Daniel from others, he noticed that Johnny got like a snarling dog. It had still taken him a lot of convincing to get Johnny to not kick Freddy’s ass, he would have liked it if Johnny kicked Dutch’s ass though.

In the match where he was against Bobby, Daniel saw Bobby and Johnny locked in a heated debate with their Sensei. He didn’t know what they were arguing about but their eyes kept going over to him and he got worried. Finally, Bobby stomped over to the ring but he didn’t look happy about it. Daniel caught Johnny’s blue eyes, his own eyes searching for answers and he mouthed “What’s going on?”

“No, that’s it! Fuck this, I quit! I’m done with Cobra Kai!” Johnny’s outburst surprised everyone and most of all Kreese. “I’m done with you!” The blonde directed at his Sensei and threw his belt down at the man’s feet. “I’m not going to cheat for you and you shouldn’t expect any of us to! Don’t listen to him, Bobby- urk!” It only took a second for Kreese to silence Johnny when he turned around to address Bobby and Daniel had never felt so scared in his life.

“Shut up, you little traitor!” Kreese had Johnny in a chokehold. “I made you and this is how you repay me?”

Everyone in the arena was frozen with horror as Johnny struggled to breathe. They had never seen anything like this before.

“I can’t breathe!” Johnny choked out, his attempts to break free were futile against his Sensei.

“Let go of him!” Daniel shouted at the top of his lungs and rushed forward. His heart pounded in his chest as Tommy and Bobby were knocked away by Kreese as they tried to intervene. Why wasn’t anyone doing anything? Kreese was choking Johnny in front of everyone but no one was intervening. “Stop it!” He tried to attempt to pull one of Kreese’s arms but the backhand he got sent him onto the floor with the other Cobras who had tried it. Even though the strike was hard, Daniel barely felt it and he was back on his feet in no time but someone held him back and stepped in front of him. He realized that someone was Mr. Miyagi.

“Let boy go.” Mr. Miyagi’s voice was cool but determined. “Pick on someone own size.”

Kreese laughed dementedly. “And you’re my size, old man?” He made no move to let Johnny go.

Mr. Miyagi moved fast and in seconds, he got Johnny free of Kreese’s clutches and Daniel ran to him.

Johnny’s face was red from lack of oxygen and he gulped for air but he was alive.

“Johnny!” Daniel noticed for the first time that he was crying. “Johnny, it’s okay.” He shakily put a hand on Johnny’s shoulder. He wanted to hug Johnny but he had to let the other catch his breath first. Instead, he surveyed the scene with Mr. Miyagi and Kreese. The two were circling each other, Kreese like a lion and Miyagi like a less dangerous animal, perhaps a gazelle or something. It was funny that no one rushed to apprehend Kreese as soon as Johnny was freed. Instead, everyone was giving them the space they needed to battle it out. Even the arena was completely silent aside from some whispers. Daniel wanted Kreese to hurt.

“D-Daniel…” Johnny’s voice was hoarse and he reached for Daniel’s hand.

“Johnny, oh thank god!” Daniel wrapped him up in a hug. “I thought- I’m so sorry, Johnny.” He whispered. He never should have made Johnny do this but then at the same time, what if Kreese had hurt the blonde when he wasn’t around? He didn’t want that but he didn’t want this either. Johnny buried his face in Daniel’s shoulder and sobbed. “Shh, shh, it’s okay, I’m here now.” He soothed and rubbed Johnny’s back. Still, he looked over at what Kreese and Mr. Miyagi were doing.

Kreese was lunging at Mr. Miyagi with no restraint while the smaller man seemed to be holding back, still, he was able to block Kreese exceedingly well. He saw that Kreese was getting frustrated as Mr. Miyagi landed blows on him and not the other way around. The two men broke apart briefly and Kreese upped his offensive stance while Mr. Miyagi turned around and gave Daniel a wink before adopting the same stance that Daniel had been practicing that day on the beach. The Crane Technique.

Daniel gasped. “Johnny, look.” He implored and his boyfriend looked. Together, they and everyone else watched the greatest move to ever go down in the All Valley Tournament history. 

Kreese had a sneer on his face as he faced Mr. Miyagi. It was clear he was assured of his victory. He rushed forward with ferocity only to be taken out so quickly. It was like it happened in slow motion, Mr. Miyagi’s foot connected with Kreese’s face, shattering his nose on impact, blood spurted and Kreese’s head snapped back as he fell ungracefully onto the floor. That moment was when the All Valley security swarmed over Kreese and dragged him away. He was arrested soon after and Cobra Kai was disbanded.   
Instead of gloating, Mr. Miyagi went right away to check on the two boys. 

“Mr. Miyagi, that was incredible!” Daniel gushed. “Thank you.” He ducked his head gratefully at his Sensei.

“So that was the move you were practicing out there.” Johnny had enough in him to produce an amused smile as he looked over at Daniel. “Thank you, I can’t believe you did that.” He seemed shy around Mr. Miyagi, maybe still holding onto his past mistakes with Daniel.

“No thank me.” Mr. Miyagi placed a hand on both of their shoulders. “You important to Daniel-san, you important to me.” The little old man beamed.

Johnny’s mouth fell open and Daniel knew it was because he could tell that Mr. Miyagi really cared about Johnny and it wasn’t that fake shit that Kreese peddled or even what Johnny’s stepfather Sid gave out. Johnny didn’t even hesitate with hugging Mr. Miyagi and Daniel joined him. It felt good being surrounded by people you loved.

Daniel’s mom even found her way to them and she crushed Daniel and Johnny in a hug, saying how worried she was for both of them. Mr. Miyagi even got a hug out of it too.

At the end of the day, since Johnny quit Cobra Kai and didn’t want to fight anyways and Bobby didn’t either, Daniel was the winner by default. It wasn’t much of a victory but he hadn’t wanted to fight either. Everyone knew anyway that Mr. Miyagi was the true champion.

That night, the two boys lay cuddling in Daniel’s room. This time Johnny was resting on Daniel’s chest.

“Mr. Miyagi would really train me too?” Johnny sounded awestruck. 

“You heard what he said, you’re important to him too.” Daniel rested his head on Johnny’s blonde hair. “People care about you, Johnny.”

“I know, it’s just wow…” His boyfriend murmured.

“Despite everything that happened today, I think things are looking up.” He declared.

“I think you’re right.” Johnny agreed as he sat up. “I love you, LaRusso.”

“I love you too, Johnny.” Daniel smiled right before he and Johnny lost themselves in a kiss.

-End Flashback-

“What’re you thinking about?” Johnny’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Just thinking about you.” It wasn’t the full truth but he didn’t want to mention the tournament to the other. Sometimes when Johnny shivered in his sleep, he wondered if it had something to do with the tournament or what happened out on the beach.

“That’s funny, I was just thinking about you.” His partner smiled. “I’m always thinking about you.” He said fondly.

Daniel smiled back and held Johnny’s hand. “I don’t think I ever would have figured out what love was if I hadn’t met you.”

Johnny gave his hand a squeeze. “Don’t get sappy on me, LaRusso.”

Daniel raised his eyebrows. “Really? You just said you’re always thinking about me and I’m not supposed to take that as sappy?” He snorted.

“You got me there.” Johnny laughed.

They sat looking out at the waves, feeling the sun on their backs before Daniel turned to Johnny and said “I think you should kiss me.” The words echoing what he had said when they were teens and just figuring out their feelings for the first time.

“I thought you’d never ask.” Johnny’s voice was affectionate and his eyes were soft.

The ocean called out to Daniel but as usual, he was too busy to answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think! It feels good to finish a fic but I've got to get to work on my other one now (and my accumulating CK wips). <3

**Author's Note:**

> I'm planning on adding a short epilogue for ch. 2 because I thought this part was too long and it wouldn't sync up well. Hope y'all enjoyed. <3


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